Kerry allows limited drink driving on rural roads

Expect waves of news coverage and lots of late-nite television jokes about County Kerry Council’s vote on allowing limited drink driving on rural roads.

The measure by Kerry councillor Danny Healy-Rae passed earlier this week on a 5-3 vote, with 12 absent and seven abstaining. Healy-Rae, a pub owner, said his measure is designed to ease the isolation of elderly rural residents, many whom might be riding slow-moving tractors to fetch a few pints.

Full implementation of the measure requires the Department of Justice to issue rural permits.

The Kerryman’s digital edition quotes the surviving family member of someone killed by a drunken driver as being “appalled, repulsed [and] ashamed” of the vote. Expect to see more backlash in the weeks ahead.